Resurrection
by Golem XIV
Summary: Second in the "Timeline" series. Raven bargains with Trigon to bring Teale back, and Trigon demands a high price. Raven finds out that bargains with demons usually turn out to be more than one wanted. Finally complete.
1. Prologue

Author's note: Please make sure you read "Timeline" first, otherwise much of the stuff won't make sense.

* * *

She was levitating in lotus position in front of the summoning pentagram, mouthing soundless incantations. Above the pentagram, four red gashes in the fabric of reality burned with scorching hellfire.

 _Greetings, my daughter._

"You already know what I want, Trigon. Name your price."

 _Ah, to see my own spawn so immersed in that disgusting feeling you mortals call 'love'. It is disappointing. But highly amusing, also. I must admit that the torture you are suffering in its grasp is giving me great satisfaction._

"I didn't summon you to listen to your gloating!"

The entire tower suddenly started shaking, as if an earthquake had struck the island where it stood.

 _YOU. DID. NOT. SUMMON. ME._

The tremors subsided.

 _No, my daughter. I am not a simple demon that can be dragged back and forth between planes by some apprentice sorcerer._

The tower shook again.

 _I AM TRIGON._

Again, the shaking stopped.

 _I answer your call because I want to. It pleases me to watch your soul twisted in anguish. I relish the scent of your despair. And I will enjoy savoring the taste of your crushed hopes._

"You will not help me, then?"

 _Why should I? What can you, an insignificant speck of mud, offer me, Trigon the Terrible?_

"There must be something."

 _There may be. The question is, will you pay the price?_ Can _you pay the price?_

"I will do anything!"

 _Very well. Kill your four friends._

Her eyes opened in horror. "NO! You cannot demand that! I will never –"

Trigon's laughter echoed in her head, burning her mind, slashing at her soul.

 _No, my daughter. I know there are things that you will not do, for any reason. After all, I did create you. But your despair was sweet perfume to me._

"Stop playing with me!"

 _Why? I have not felt this much pleasure for a long time._

"Please, there must be something I can –"

 _Ah, you abase yourself in front of me? You humiliate your soul by pleading with me? Just when I thought that this could not get any better. But still, I weary of our encounter. Here is the token. Here is the man. You know what you must do._

A disk of blinding red light appeared in the center of the pentagram. As the light faded, it left behind a circular token with a fiery, serpentine sign embossed on its surface.

In her mind, another flash of blazing red made her cry out in pain. It subsided slowly, leaving the image of a man. A man with a mask, one eye in the shadow, one staring at her malevolently.

The four slits of fire closed. Her head dropped as she fainted. The levitation spell gone, her body tumbled to the floor.

She lay there, unconscious. Fists pounded at her door. Suddenly, there was a crash and the door fell inwards. Voices filled the room.

"What happened here?" "Is she all right?" "Take her to Sickbay!"


	2. Deliberation

It was more than darkness. It was blackness.

She was floating in it, surrounded by it. It blinded not only her eyes, but all her senses. She felt like she had to escape it, but it stretched in every direction, shapeless, empty.

 _Raven…_

She heard the sound. At first it did not mean anything to her. It seemed to come from all places at once, sourceless, omnipresent.

And yet the sound had meaning. The meaning was a word. The word was… Her?

The realization awoke something in her. She turned around desperately in the formless dark, trying to sense where it came from.

 _Raven…_

With the recognition of her Self, memories started returning. Together with the memories, images appeared. Soft grey eyes. Sometimes sad, sometimes happy, sometimes hard as flint. "Teale…?"

She heard her own voice and the name she spoke made the darkness lighter. Her eyes fluttered, opened.

"Raven, are you all right? What happened to you?"

She finally managed to focus her gaze and saw that she was laying on a bed in Sickbay, the Titans around her, with concerned looks on their faces.

"I'm… not sure. What happened? Why am I in Sickbay?"

"Whadda you mean 'what happened'? _We_ should ask 'what happened'! Don't try to 'what happened' us, momma! We were worried sick for you because we have no idea 'what happened'!"

"Not now, Beast Boy" said Robin, then turned back to Raven. "Are you all right?"

She could feel her body again, the pull of gravity, the bed she was placed on, the soft, almost imperceptible breeze of the ventilation system.

"I think I am. Why am I in Sickbay?"

"We found you unconscious on the floor in your room. We brought you here to see if you had suffered any injuries."

The mention of her room finally cleared out all the cobwebs from her mind. "I must go to my room!" She swung her legs over the side and got up. Dizziness struck her, but before she could fall two hands – one gloved, one made of metal – grabbed each of her arms and supported her.

"I don't think it's a good idea…" Robin started, but she dismissed him with a raised hand.

"Follow me, I will explain everything soon."

She left, briskly walking towards her room. The Titans glanced at each other, then followed.

She entered her room, while the rest filed inside after her. She went to the pentagram and crouched before it.

"Hey, what's this?" Beast Boy said, as his hand shot forward to pick up the token laying in the pentagram's center.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" she shouted, grabbing his arm before he could reach it. "Please, none of you must touch this!"

"What it that object?" inquired Starfire. "It looks like…"

"The Mark of Scath." Robin concluded for her grimly.

Raven nodded, lifted her hand and a cloud of black energy enveloped the token. It lifted off the ground and floated towards her. She took it, still enveloped in the black nimbus, and put it inside her cloak.

"Let's go!" Raven said, turning to the others. "I will explain everything."

* * *

They were all gathered in the Main Ops Room, listening to Raven's account of what happened in the last few days, and especially in the last hour.

"… so when I heard Robin mention Slade, it hit me – Trigon revived Slade, even after he was consumed in lava, so reviving Teale would be child's play for him. From that moment, my only purpose in life was to contact Trigon and convince him to resurrect Teale."

"Woo, hold it, momma – didn't you kill big bad four-eyes?"

Raven scowled at him and opened her mouth to lash at Beast Boy for his impertinent question, then realized the question was not stupid and that she was just being cranky and unreasonable. She took a deep breath.

"No, Beast Boy. You do not 'kill' an Arch-Demon like Trigon. I just banished him back where he came from."

"Ain't that a shame", commented Cyborg.

"So that was the 'project' that occupied your business when I made the visit to you?"

"Yes, Star. I never did a summoning before. Trying to summon Trigon is certainly not a safe introduction to the art for a beginner, so I had to make sure I had everything covered."

"Considering that there was a Mark of Scath on the pentagram, I assume you succeeded?" asked Robin.

"Yes and no. Trigon appeared… But he made it completely clear that he came of his own will, not because I called upon him. Did you feel the tower shake twice?"

"Yes, we thought it was an earthquake and ran out of the tower. We noticed you were not with us, so we ran back in to get you. When we got to your door, there was an eerie red light coming from under the door. We were concerned, we knocked on the door but you didn't answer, so I told Cyborg to, um, open it."

"Which he did by the most expedient means, I see." Both Robin and Cyborg opened their mouths, but Raven cut them off with a smile and a raised hand. "Don't apologize. I was teasing you. I thank you for your concern and your quick thinking."

"Um… Teasing? Thanking? Did some alien abductor replace Raven?" said Beast Boy.

Raven actually laughed. "No, BB. It _is_ me." She then looked at him with a slightly apprehensive look in her eyes. "Am I really that bad?"

"You laughed at one of my jokes!" His eyes became misty. "I think I am in love…"

Raven gave Beast Boy one of her "Old Raven" scowls and said "Let's not overdo it, hmmm?"

Beast Boy recoiled and said "That's the real Raven, all right!"

"OK, let's get back to what happened" Robin interjected impatiently.

Raven nodded. "As I said, I summoned Trigon, or more precisely, he came to me, to hear my bargain." She shivered. "I would not like to repeat the experience. He gloated over me… my pain… and he… He toyed with me. It gave him pleasure to see my anguish and… and my…" her eyes had a haunted look.

Cyborg put an arm protectively around her. "It's OK, little sis. We're here, he's gone. You're safe, now."

Raven smiled weakly. "Thanks, Cy. But I was not afraid. I was just disgusted at the depths of his evil. I still feel sullied by even listening to him. I hope I will be able to cleanse that taint from my soul."

She took a shuddering breath, then continued. "I will not repeat all that he said, because it is unnecessary and it would only distress you and me. But in the end he did accept to bargain. The Mark of Scath is the token of this bargain."

"And what is his price for resurrecting Teale?" Robin asked, a worried frown on his face.

"He wants Slade."

* * *

The discussion lasted until late. Cyborg was straightforward in his opinion.

"I don't see what's the problem here. We take out one bad guy, we get back one good guy. 2-0 win for the good guys. Why are you so opposed?"

"I'm not opposed, I'm just urging caution! Slade is slippery, dangerous, unpredictable. If we go after him, we must do it very carefully!" Robin cautioned.

"I agree with friend Cyborg" said Starfire. "We must do our utmost to help our friend… our _two_ friends!"

Suddenly Beast Boy, who did not say a word since the discussion began, started talking.

"Hello! Are you guys listening to yourselves? Do you realize what you are saying?" He started counting out points on the fingers of his hand.

"Four-eyes does not have a great track record of keeping his promises; by fulfilling his request we will be doing him a favor that may turn on us and bite us from behind one day; we can't be sure that he will not influence Teale when he resurrects him; and finally –" he closed his fist "– finally, we are talking about condemning someone to be a play toy for an extradimensional demon, which makes me shiver, even if that someone is our good friend Slade!"

Raven did not take part of the discussion, but was looking out of the panoramic window as the Titans argued. When she heard Beast Boy's words, however, she turned, an angry scowl on her face, and floated over to him.

"The two of them can enjoy each other for all eternity, for all I care! I just want Teale back, and if that is the price to pay, I will pay it, with or without you! I will sacrifice my very soul to save the man that sacrificed his life for me!"

She floated, towering over Beast Boy, her eyes two blazing pools of white wrath. But Beast Boy was not intimidated. He stared back without flinching, until the white fire in Raven's eyes died. She floated down, her scowl melted, her eyes filling with anguish. She put her two hands on Beast Boy's shoulders.

"I… I'm sorry, Beast Boy. I shouldn't have said that. You are right. I'm sorry." Her head fell on his chest, she hugged him and started sobbing. "I... just... want... him... back...!"

Several loose items in the room started shaking and a glass fell off the table, smashing on the floor.

Beast Boy was at a loss as to what to do. "It's all right, Rae. We'll help you find Slade and bring Teale back. I promise. It's all right, momma." He stroked her hair until her sobs ended and the loose items in the room stopped shaking.


	3. Confrontation

Tracking Slade was an arduous, thankless task. Robin and Cyborg would sift through newspapers, radio and TV channels and Internet news sites looking at the reported crimes committed and if they could be hiding some ulterior motive. They also listened to 911 communications, military and civilian distress frequencies, reporters contacting headquarters and other communications sources. They hacked into several large corporate and government networks and placed automated, undetectable sniffers that would alert them if someone else was trying to hack them. Finally, they had to prepare a list of possible targets that Slade would be interested in – secret technologies, high-ranking officials, targets of extraordinary value – and Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire would then stake out these targets waiting for a possible attack.

It was slow and exhausting work and it created many false positives, but it was the best they could do. Even though they managed to prevent several robberies and an infiltration attempt, there was nothing that pointed to Slade.

Tempers began to fray and it was difficult for any of the Titans to control their frustration, which led to some ugly confrontations. Robin managed to defuse all of these situations, but he realized that if they did not get a solid lead soon enough, they would be in trouble.

After a week of this fruitless search, Robin decided that they needed a break. He called off the hunt late afternoon and by evening all the Titans were gathered back at the Tower.

Cyborg was angry. "Man, this is useless! We've been scouring the city for days and there's no sign of him!"

"Maybe he is not even present in the city" Starfire suggested.

"He has to be!" Robin said, clenching his fists. "I will not give up!"

"Give up what? We have nothing! I've been sitting and watching screens all day for a week, even my implant eye is turning square!"

"Well, excuse me if your job is not glamorous enough for you, Mr. Know It All! If you have a better idea, I'm listening!"

"At least I am trying to come up with something, if only I had some time to do it! But you are driving us like slaves on this endless, fruitless searching!"

From there it quickly degenerated into a shouting match between everyone, except for Beast Boy. He sat on the couch, unusually serious, listening to his friends' bickering heating up until it was threatening to become a fight.

He finally stood up and shouted. "Shut up, all of you! Just shut UP!"

Everyone turned to him. "I told you this would happen. We are fighting each other! Trigon is probably laughing his head off, looking at us!"

Raven floated down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Beast Boy is right. This is so typical of my fa – of Trigon. He has given us a task that he knew will stretch us to our limits. He's trying to break us apart, drive a wedge between us."

Everyone sobered up. Robin sat down on the couch, took a deep breath, and said "Titans! I know you are all thinking that this is not working and I agree. But it is the best I can think of at the moment. If someone has a better plan, I would like to hear it, no matter how crazy it may sound. We should not discard any idea at this moment. So think!"

"What we're doing is thinking around in circles. We need to think outside the box, as they say." commented Cyborg.

"That is easy to say. Do you have anything on your mind?" Robin snapped.

"Cool down, Robin" Raven said sharply. "You're starting the fight again."

Robin looked away, the anger he felt at himself slowly dissipating.

"Friends, if I can offer the suggestion, on Tamaran, when we hunt for Glorgs, it is customary to attract them with a captive Zarnic!"

Robin's eyes lit up. "You mean bait him? That's actually a fantastic idea! Way to go, Starfire!" Starfire blushed.

"Yes, but what do we bait him with?" Cyborg mused.

"With the one thing he would like to get most. With me." concluded Robin grimly.


	4. Deception

Robin was patrolling Jump City, scanning the streets from the roofs of the buildings. The other Titans were spread out around him in a rough square, two to three blocks away. His communicator was set to continuous transmit but otherwise strict radio silence was in place. They did not want Slade to know that they were hunting him. This mission had to be a stealthy one.

He was at it for almost an hour, when out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a human figure disappearing. He immediately changed his course to check who or what it was. Even though it was the third time it happened thus far, he still felt his adrenaline starting to pump.

"Calm down, Robin" he said to himself. "It's probably another homeless guy, or maybe a thief lucky enough that I have bigger fish on my mind tonight."

He dropped down to the roof he wanted to inspect and reeled in the grapple. The roof had several ventilation outlets, the shack where the machinery for the elevators was housed and the stairway entrance.

"No lack of hiding places here" he mused to himself.

He approached the elevator maintenance shack, intending to check if there was someone hiding inside. As he reached for the door, he heard a familiar voice behind his back.

"This is not altogether an unpleasant surprise, Robin."

Robin spun, launching a birdarang at the voice and preparing his staff with the other hand.

"Slade!"

Slade avoided the projectile almost effortlessly.

"Were you looking for me?" Slade said, as Robin immediately sprung at him. Slade retreated slowly from the onslaught, evading Robin's attacks and barely launching any attack of his own.

"My, you are certainly determined to get your hands on me, Robin" he said in a mocking voice. "But you will have to try harder than that!" he hissed, as he jumped on the next roof, taunting Robin to follow.

* * *

Starfire was slowly flitting and adjusting her course to stay at the corner of the square they formed, using her communicator to confirm her position relative to the other three titans in the other corners of the square and Robin in its center. As she lifted her gaze from the communicator, she just then noticed several flying figures swooping down on her. She stopped to a hover and her hands and eyes lit with green flame, ready to receive what were obviously attackers.

Suddenly she felt a strong blow on her back and felt her arms and legs being immobilized. She had been caught into a net. She flexed her muscles mightily and the net ripped, but at the same time she was hit two, three, five times more, every hit wrapping her further into yet another net. She realized that her strength, huge as it was, was insufficient to tear all of the fibers coiled around her.

The net covered her eyes, too, and almost made it impossible to see. She released a starbeam, to burn through the net and give her awareness of what was going on, not expecting the result that it was going to have.

As the starbeam struck the net, the superconducting outer layer absorbed and transferred the energy onto converters placed in the knots of the netting, which in turn transformed the energy of her starbeam into electricity. The current discharged through her body, stunning her. She fell to the pavement, cracking it where she impacted, and lay still.

* * *

Beast Boy hopped on his route switching between goat and monkey forms. As he jumped to the next roof in his path, he saw several dark humanoid figures arranged in a row, as if waiting for him. Recognizing immediately the danger, he turned into a rhino and charged. The figures melted before him, though, and before he realized that there was a concrete wall in front, he had already smashed head-first into it. He shook the great rhino head to clear the stars in front of his eyes, but he was immediately impacted in the ear by something very hard and very heavy. Dazed, he tried to turn towards this new threat. New strikes pummeled him, causing bright explosions of light in his head and forcing the air from his body. Disoriented and breathless, he tried changing form and escaping, but finally succumbed under the avalanche of blows that continued even after his body slumped to the ground.

* * *

Cyborg was running down the street in his assigned position. Before coming to an intersection, he quickly scanned the screen on his arm and decided on his path. As he entered the intersection and turned, he was struck from the side and flew several feet, crashing into a parked van.

Unfazed, he got up and faced at least a dozen humanoid robots of the type he knew well. The only thing different about them was that they were carrying whips, whose entire length danced with sparks.

"Booyah! I was hoping you tin cans would show up tonight!" he shouted, preparing his Shock Cannon. As he prepared to blast the robots, a whip sneaked in from behind and wrapped itself around his legs, zapping him with current. He started to lose his balance. Another whip coiled itself around his torso, immobilizing his left arm and also discharging current into his body. A third one struck his right arm, and as he fell to the ground he could see several robots running at him, holding short wands with electrified, forked tips. The wands came down, the electricity surged through his body, frying his circuits and his already unconscious mind.

* * *

Floating not more than a foot above the roof, Raven was suddenly struck with a premonition.

 _Robin! He found Slade! But why isn't there any alert on the communicator?_

She immediately realized the reason why.

 _A trap! Slade figured us out and drew us into a trap!_

At the moment the thought passed through her head, Slade's Commando robots appeared as if by magic all around her. She created a long blade of black energy in each hand and swung. On both sides, several robots fell apart, cut in half by the dark blade. The others started throwing small, round objects at her. _Grenades!_ she thought, quickly taking cover from the expected explosion.

The explosions came, but they were not destructive. A thick cloud of green gas formed and Raven started coughing. Realizing her danger, she quickly expanded an impervious sphere of black energy around herself, but the gas was already burning in her lungs. She dropped to the roof, forcing herself to resist the soporific effect, trying to keep the protective sphere up and not let any more gas come in.

 _I… must… resist…_

* * *

The pursuit went on, with Robin attacking tirelessly and Slade mostly defending and retreating. Their fight took them closer to the docks. Finally Slade hopped down to the street and ran into an abandoned warehouse. Robin ran in after him.

The warehouse was dark, the windows boarded up. Robin moved quietly along it, senses alert, weapons ready. He was worried that the others didn't respond yet, but he couldn't leave Slade's trail. An almost imperceptible sound, a breath of air, or some sixth sense made him execute a blocking manoeuver to his left, just as Slade emerged from the gloom, attacking.

"You have been practicing, apprentice" whispered Slade. "Your techniques have improved."

"I am NOT your apprentice!" Robin snarled. He broke Slade's attack with a lightning counter of his staff and immediately followed with an attack of his own.

Slade blocked the attack, jumped over Robin's head in a somersault and launched a kick at him as soon as his feet touched the ground. Robin blocked with the staff, following the move to try to sweep Slade off his feet.

"What is it with you and your fixation with apprentices?" Robin asked, while pressing on the attack. "Me!" the staff rushed like a spear towards Slade's head. "Terra!" Slade dodged, but Robin's foot was already arcing through the air at his midsection. Slade blocked and retreated further. "Why are you so keen on it?"

"A master needs an apprentice for the continuation of his work." responded Slade. "And it appears that my first choice was the best one!"

Suddenly, the entire warehouse was bathed in light. Robin was blinded for a second, ample time for Slade to connect a punishing blow, throwing Robin's body back several feet. Robin quickly got up and readied for defense, his eyes finally accustoming themselves to the glare.

He froze. Behind Slade there were at least twenty robots, all ready to attack him at Slade's command. But it was not the numerical superiority of the enemy that concerned him.

On the floor around Slade there were several bundles that Robin quickly recognized as the bodies of his friends.

"What did you do to them?" Robin shouted as he sprang up to attack Slade. "If you harmed them, so help me…"

"No, apprentice. They are alive. Not that it will last very long." With those words, Slade's robots started moving towards Robin. He was surrounded.

"Give it up, apprentice. You may as well admit that you lost!"

"Not yet!" came the words from above them. Slade looked up, surprised, only to see a disembodied black claw descend, grab him and throw him on his robots, tumbling most of them down. Raven glided down besides Robin and said "We must leave. Now! _Azarath Metrion Zinthos!_ "

A black dome formed around Raven, Robin and the still forms of their friends, while Raven's soul-self emerged from her and closed its wings around them all, enveloping them and taking them home.


	5. Retaliation

As Raven entered the Main Ops Room, Robin turned from the monitor he was studying.

"How are they?"

"Starfire's fine" Raven said, knowing who Robin was most interested in. "She suffered a massive electric shock and apparently fell from quite a height, but she's an incredibly tough girl. She'll be bruised and in lots of pain for a couple of days, but nothing more than that. I gave her painkillers and some sedatives so she can sleep most of it off. The biggest problem with her was getting that damn netting off."

Robin did not allow himself to feel relief. "And the rest?"

"Cyborg's electronic components have been fried, but his organics are nominal. We just need to put him into a spare suit, but you know that's not as easy as it sounds."

Robin nodded his agreement. He knew that removing Cyborg's organic parts from one electronic host to another was much more complicated than simply bolting components off and on. Delicate neural connections had to be made, metabolic levels had to be carefully calibrated, his immune system had to be 'trained' so it does not reject the new implants… It was at least a two-day, full-time job, _if_ they could get Cyborg on-line quickly so that he can assist with the remainder of his own assembly.

"And Beast Boy?"

Raven sat down on the couch, sighed and removed her hood. Robin noticed deep circles under her eyes.

"He worries me the most. He received repeated, heavy blows to the head and torso. He must have been transformed into a large animal, a dinosaur or something like that, because no bones are broken. But he is full of bruises and I fear he may have a concussion. I have induced a temporary coma so that his brain activity is reduced to the minimum. That should tide him over, but he will be out for at least a week."

Raven gazed at the huge monitor screen without really focusing on it. "You know, just a month ago, I would have said 'No worries, he does not have any brains that could get hurt anyway'. But it turned out that he was smarter, wiser and more mature than all of us."

She looked at Robin. "He was the only one that understood what a horrific mistake I've made by striking a bargain with my – my creator. He realized what I should have known from the start; that deals with demons always end up having a much higher price than the one you agree upon. I allowed myself to be led by my emotions, and I dragged all of you into this. I am sorry."

Robin got up, walked over and sat beside Raven, placing an arm around her shoulders. "Do not be sorry. Teale was our friend, and I am not sure any of us would have done differently if we were in your shoes."

Raven felt Robin's emotions flow into her – his concern for her, his friendship, but also his courage and determination. It eased her own fears and the terrible pressure in her chest abated.

"Teale – he was so torn by anguish and regret…" Raven said softly. "I could feel those emotions whirling inside him, not understanding where they came from. I could not but admire how he was managing to overcome them. I had my meditation, but he only had his will and his conviction that he did the right thing. I think that is what made me love him." Robin was silent, listening, knowing that Raven needed to get it out.

"He would have never told me so, but now I know that from the moment he realized what our destinies were, he made his choice and never wavered from it, even when he knew very well that his choice meant his… his…"

"Hush, there is no need for you to torture yourself" said Robin. "Don't dwell on it."

"But I have to, Robin." She looked him in the eyes. "I am putting you, my friends, the only people in the world that mean more than life to me – I am putting you in mortal danger, so that I can save _him_ , thank _him_ , be with _him_. But I could never forgive myself if that goal caused any of you to get hurt, or…"

"Don't say that. He deserves it, more than anybody. From you, and from us. There can be no other way. Teale would understand. And as for us – we wouldn't have it any other way." He placed his hand over hers. "We risk our lives every day fighting villains for millions of people we never met or even heard about. Do you really think we would not go all the way for someone who managed so quickly to become such a close friend?"

She gave him a thankful smile. "Thank you, Robin. You have made my burden a little bit more bearable."

"Go get some sleep. Tomorrow we have to continue our search for Slade."

A mocking voice sounded behind them. "Why wait for tomorrow? Let us finish this now!"

They whirled, surprised. Slade's grenade was already flying toward them. Robin dropped on the floor and rolled away. The grenade exploded, the blast going over Robin's head, but catching the surprised Raven and throwing her against the wall, where she slumped, unconscious.

Robin glanced at her, but he knew he dared not divide his attention. Slade approached slowly, his eye glinting maliciously.

"How did you get in here? How did you bypass the security?"

Slade chuckled. "Oh, Robin, you disappoint me. Underestimating your opponent is a big mistake. Since when could any security system stop me?"

Slade dropped into a combat stance. "I came to repay you for the little trap you thought of setting up for me tonight", he said as he launched a furious attack on Robin. "I am sorry that I was eavesdropping on your conversation –". Slade's attack mounted on, forcing Robin to retreat. "– but the part that referred to me aroused my interest." He released a fresh barrage of strikes. "I would really like to hear more about it."

Robin did not bother to answer. Slade's assault was overwhelming and he needed his full attention concentrated on his opponent. He blocked and dodged, launching counters whenever he could, but Slade was almost unstoppable.

"Come now, it is very bad manners –" Slade launched a series of strikes with his fists that Robin barely avoided, "– to talk about someone behind his back!" A succession of kicks and punches strained Robin's defense to the limit, until at last it broke and a punch got through. Once Robin's defense was shattered, Slade struck mercilessly. "Tell me!" Slade struck again. "Tell me, or I'll beat it out of you!" Slade's kick connected painfully with Robin's temple, stunning him and throwing him back. Robin fell on his hands and knees. Out of breath, head spinning, he could only watch as Slade moved closer.

 _Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!_

Several pieces of furniture, enveloped in black energy, sped towards Slade. Slade, however, had heard the incantation and was already moving away from the impact point. He tossed a grenade where the voice came from, but a small black portal opened and swallowed the grenade, disappearing immediately after.

"Fool me twice?" Raven said, launching several bolts at Slade.

Slade dodged and weaved through the barrage of bolts, rolling into range and swiping Raven off her feet. As she was falling, he struck her with his open palm in her midsection so that she doubled over, her breath whooshing out. He lifted his hand to finish her, but the strike was blocked by Robin's staff.

Slade quickly changed targets and launched a renewed assault on Robin. "You have learned some new tricks, apprentice" he said, as he absorbed a couple of strikes without flinching. "But no matter what you do, I will win!" He swung his leg savagely to hit Robin. Instead of ducking under the blow, as Slade expected him to do, Robin stepped back and launched three birdarangs at Slade, following up with the staff. As Slade avoided the projectiles and the swings, Robin continued the attack, knowing that he had to keep Slade fully occupied.

After an inconclusive exchange that lasted no more than three seconds, Robin sprang back and said "I don't think so." Slade's eye widened as he realized he fell into a trap. He tried to launch himself to the side, but the three returning birdarangs smashed into his head, shoulder and spine. Robin waded in with the staff and finished it with a brutal swing to Slade's temple. "That was a present from a friend of mine" he said dryly.

Raven and Robin approached their fallen foe carefully, wary of a trick. Raven put her hand inside her cloak and produced the token with the Mark of Scath, still wrapped in the dark energy nimbus.

Robin crouched beside Slade. "Before we send you to play with your old friend, I just want to see your face!" he said, reaching for Slade's mask.

Slade's eye suddenly opened, and his knee struck Robin in the face. Robin was thrown up, Slade jumping back on his feet. At that moment, Raven's arm shot forward and she pressed the token against Slade's chest, while removing the protective energy that was wrapped around it.

The token suddenly blazed in a red light. Slade's hands moved towards his chest, as if wanting to remove the token that was burning him. The red light started extending from Slade's chest and across his body. Beams of red shone through the eye and mouth slits on his mask. Suddenly, both the light and Slade were gone, and the token clattered on the floor.

Raven lifted her hand and wrapped the token in a dark aura again, making it rise in the air and float towards her. She took it and hid it again in her cloak.

"It is done." she said in a grim voice.


	6. Resurrection

They went quickly to Raven's room. Once there, Raven took up a lotus position, levitating in front of the stone slab where Teale's body lay, still wrapped in Raven's dark energy cocoon.

"This will take a few minutes. Sit down somewhere and relax while I do it", she told Robin over her shoulder.

She faced Teale's body and began chanting the mantra.

 _Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…_

Tendrils of black energy snaked from the jewel on Raven's forehead and her two hands towards Teale's cocooned body. The tendrils played all over the cocoon, as if probing, searching, looking for something.

Robin was fascinated. The tendrils were playing a random pattern over the cocoon, but soon covered all of its surface at least once. Raven was obviously looking for something, probably making sure that Trigon has fulfilled his part of the bargain.

After a few minutes, the black tendrils retreated back into Raven's hands and jewel. She stretched her legs to the floor and extinguished the levitation spell, turning to Robin. Her eyes were glowing under the hood.

"The Spark of Life is in him."

She turned to the pentagram and removed the token with the Mark of Scath. She released it and it floated slowly towards the pentagram, until it landed softly in its center. The dark nimbus around it dissipated.

"I am satisfied, Trigon."

 _So am I. The bargain has been concluded._

The token vanished in a soundless flash of red light. Raven walked to an armchair and sat down heavily.

"Tired?" asked Robin.

"Yes, but not from this. It was just our mutual understanding that the bargain has been fulfilled, so the token that represented it disappeared."

"So, now what?"

"It will take a while. Teale's body was… damaged… heavily. He is alive now, but if I remove the protective cocoon, he will immediately die again from the wounds. The cocoon will keep him safe and will speed up the regeneration process, but we will have to wait for at least a month until all the damage is repaired and I can release him from it."

"Raven, those are great news, but…" Robin said warily.

She turned towards him and looked him in the eyes, smiling. Her eyes were glowing in the depths of her hood. "You are worried about Trigon now possessing Teale or something like that?"

Robin, ashamed, dropped his gaze to the floor, but quickly raised it and looked into Raven's eyes again.

"I'm sorry, Raven, but I do have to worry about the possibility. I know you're happy about Teale being alive, but if Trigon managed to curse him somehow…"

Raven walked over to where Robin stood and took both his hands in hers. "Robin" she said, "do you think I did not take that possibility into account? The cocoon was woven so that only his Spark of Life could get through. It was impossible for Trigon to influence him in any way. I checked him thoroughly now for any signs of curses, dominations, geas, jinxes or any other influence, past, present or future. There is _nothing_ that would have escaped me. This is our Teale, my Teale, and he's coming back to me!"

She hugged Robin, her eyes full of tears. Robin hugged her back and gently told her "Hey, no sobbing, unless you want us to have to rebuild the tower. Remember there's just two of us now."

* * *

He was having a dream, a wonderful dream. He was a cat, chasing a mouse, his cat instincts high with the thrill of the hunt and the chase. The mouse turned into a dog, but the dog was him, and he chased the cat now. Again, he was infused with the instincts of the animal he was – the dog's enjoyment of the chase for its own sake, and the freedom he felt.

 _Beast Boy?_

The cat turned into a tiger, now chasing the dog. Beast Boy switched places to the tiger, again letting the feline hunger for the hunt and the kill pervade his body and mind with delicious pleasure. He ignored the insistent voice that seemed to come from everywhere.

 _Beast Boy!_

The dog turned into a rhino and started chasing the tiger. The rhino's gallop shook the earth. He wanted to switch to the rhino's body to continue his game, but the shaking would not let him. He opened his eyes.

"Beast Boy, wake up already!"

"Raven? OK, OK, I'm awake, please stop shakin' me!"

"How do you feel?"

"Pretty good, but I would like to go back to my dream."

"Beast Boy…" the tone of Raven's voice unmistakably stated that it was not an option.

He sighed. "All right, I'm getting up."

As he tried to get up he had a quick dizzy spell, but it cleared almost instantly. He stretched and winced. "I'm a bit stiff, must've slept curled the wrong way."

He looked around and his eyes widened. "Wait a second! Why was I sleeping in Sickbay?" Then it hit him. "Slade's Commando robots! There were dozens of 'em! What happened to me?"

"They beat you up, but fortunately they aimed mostly for the head, and there is nothing vulnerable in there" Raven said in her deadpan voice.

"So who brought me in and healed me…?" he turned to Raven, the answer already appearing in his mind. "You!"

"Yes, BB. Your injuries had me worried for a while." She then laughed, a clear, happy laugh. She took his hands into hers. "Welcome back!"

"Raven, you are… laughing? Does that mean that we…"

Looking into her glowing eyes he already knew the answer, even before she said "Yes, BB. We did it."

He whooped, turned into a large, green dog, and jumped on Raven, bringing them both down as he licked her face. Raven tried to defend herself unsuccessfully, laughing all the time.

"Yo! I could use a hand here, if you two've finished acting like children!"

"Sorry, Cy!" Raven said, as she got up, still smiling, wiping dog drool from her face.

"What happened to you, bro?" Beast Boy asked, a note of concern in his voice.

"Nothing to worry about, BB." Raven said as Cyborg, no more than a head and part of a torso, pouted. "We just need to put him back together." A malicious grin spread over Raven's face. "Come to think of it, you have experience reassembling Cyborg, right? Would you mind helping him while I catch up on some sleep?"

"Sure, momma, just leave it in my hands!" Beast Boy approached the disassembled Cyborg, ominously cracking his fingers.

"What the… Raven! You can't be serious! Don't leave me with him! Rae! Nooooo!" screamed Cyborg, but the door had already closed behind her. The sound of hammering and crashing could be heard for quite a while.

She reached her room and went straight to the rune-covered stone slab where Teale's body lay. She passed her hands over the black cocoon that was protecting and healing his body.

 _He is almost whole again. Just a few more days._

She dropped into her bed, exhausted.

* * *

The day she was waiting for arrived. She didn't give any definite answer to the constant questioning and whining of the other Titans about Teale's status. She didn't want to raise anyone's hopes too high. If they crashed and burned, it would be better if they were only hers.

 _Well, that's it. Nothing to be gained by postponing it._

She walked over to the stone slab. The runes inscribed on it glowed softly. With a wave of her hand, she extinguished them. She then raised both hands above the black cocoon enveloping Teale's body and spoke the mantra.

 _Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!_

The black cocoon dissolved. Teale's eyelids fluttered, his eyes opened and focused on Raven.

"Raven? Where am I? What happ –" his eyes suddenly went wide and he lifted himself off the slab on one elbow, swung his legs over and stood up. He opened his mouth to speak, but Raven put a finger on his lips and said "Hush. Do not speak or do anything for a minute."

Raven's hands, glowing with the soft white aura of healing, examined Teale's body in minute detail. The aura could have done its job perfectly without her hand touching him, but Teale did not know that.

 _There are a few secrets I will still keep from you, my love._

She felt his emotions flood into her through her hands. Confusion, doubt, fear. But his love for her was as brilliant as before, and his hope shone ever so brighter, as he began to realize what was going on.

As her hands, encased in their glowing aura, ascended to his chest, he gently took them in his own.

"Rae… The monster… The tentacle… I know what happened after that, but I don't remember it."

"Hush now. I will tell you everything soon. Right now there is one much more important thing to do."

Teale's power sensed her intention, and he let his feelings react for him. He lowered his head and kissed her, and for a time, there was nothing else but them in the Universe.


	7. Epilogue

He was chained spread-eagled on a vertical stone monolith. Two sets of eyes, placed one above another and smoldering with red hatred, observed him. Flames were devouring his limbs. Blades were slashing open his torso. Hammers were crushing his face. The pain was excruciating. But his flesh did not wither in the fire, and his wounds closed instantly. He was burned, frozen, slashed, crushed, stabbed. Anything and everything that could cause pain was done to him, and nothing left a mark.

In his mind, there was just pain, pain everywhere, pain such as to drive away any rational thought. But in the core of his being, below the conscious mind, below even the animalistic needs and basic instincts of the subconscious, there was only one idea, one feeling, – no, less even than that, one concept – that became the base of his entire existence.

 _Revenge._

* * *

 **Thanks to all that found the time to read the story.** Please let me know if you liked it, hated it or if it left you indifferent - all are important to me in order to improve my style.

Also, at the moment I don't have many ideas for new stories in this series, so if you have any, please PM me.

Cheers!


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